Colour Beyond Time

Awards and mentions

• This game was awarded 88% rating Crash Magazine.
• In 2022 the game was awarded the prestigious accolade of "5th best text adventure for the ZX spectrum released in 2022"
• The game came joint 3rd (with one vote) in the "Outstanding Adventuron Game of 2022 - Player's Choice IFDB Poll"

Review by Lance Cirone (Backwater, Vermont)

Let's start with the plot. Your friend Carble has left you a note: everything rests on you to stop an ancient being from rising from the lake and destroying the world! It's up to you to explore the town, figure out who you trust, and uncover what's really going on. I enjoyed the story, the bits of history you pick up and get to mentally string together, and the way the characters interact.

The puzzles throughout felt pretty fair. I kept notes, so I always had an idea of what was left to solve or where I should go next. There is one thing I think I did earlier than intended. Still, it didn't spoil any of the plot, and the puzzles didn't conflict.

Part 3's more intense tone and the way it ties everything together felt satisfying. I liked the plot developments.

One small problem was the lack of specific responses or even item descriptions. The game also has some typos throughout, but these didn't prevent me from understanding the plot and they never got in the way of the parser.

A few more general notes about the game, and advice for players: Save often, because you can die if you mess up. Still, the game will explicitly warn you when you're in danger. You also have a score counter that you can see by checking your pocket watch; the SCORE command doesn't work. There's a limit on how many items you can carry, but I only ran into this once near the end of part 2. You have a fair amount of junk items you don't need by that point, so it wasn't much of an issue.

Overall, I found Colour Beyond Time to be worth playing. There is a rewarding story and the developer has been very good at responding to my comments and questions. I recommend this one if you're looking for something more old-school.

Last known diary entry of Anna Gardner. Logged 20th Sept. 1921:

There is surely only one man in the world who could get me to drop everything and fly halfway around the globe at a moments notice. Frederik S. Carble. An investigator in matters of the occult. A Maverick, and an oddball. Just like me. Well, the last bit anyway. 

Carble and I felt we were so close to something big, back in Arkham. He wanted to prove that we were not alone, that there was other intelligent life out there. I was just his helper really. Well at first. But more and more he let me in.  Up until a few months ago I’d say we had become partners. 

Then suddenly, he ghosted me. Went off grid, stopped answering calls. Then I got a telegram from him a few months ago saying something about how I might be in great danger because of him. Then nothing, until this letter. He said he needed my help. And that he had found what he was looking for, but that the world was in a terrible danger.

So, here I am, travelling to god knows where on this god forsaken filthy train. See, I told you I was an oddball.

About the game files

Parts 1 and 2 are now combined into 1 file. If you have the password for part two, type it while Anna is in her hotel room at the start of the game.

Act 3 requires a password to play. Once you complete part 2, Anna will be given the password for the final part of the game.

ESXDOS Version

This version of the game has graphics!

29 images to help describe the game!

CPC Disc Version (New in 2024)

The full game is now available for the Amstrad CPC as 2 disks. 

RUN"boot.bas (for parts 1/2)

and 

RUN"daad.bin for part 3 (you will need the password from part 1/2)